2d/3d image display device, electronic imaging display device, and driving method thereof

ABSTRACT

A 2-dimensional (2D)/3-dimensional (3D) image display device generates 2D or 3D image data according to an input image signal and displays them on a display unit. The display unit includes a display panel for displaying an image in response to the 2D or 3D image data and an optical element layer operative during first and second driving modes in accordance with the 3D and 2D image data. A controller converts the optical element layer to be in the first driving mode in a first period before a 3D image signal is displayed when the input image signal changes from a 2D image signal to the 3D image signal, and converts the optical element layer to be in the second driving mode in a second period after the 2D image signal is displayed when the input image signal changes from the 3D image signal to the 2D image signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2006-0034658 filed in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office on Apr. 17, 2006, and Korean Patent Application No.10-2007-0019586 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Feb.27, 2007, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic image display device.More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic imagedisplay device for generating data according to input 2-dimensional (2D)or 3-dimensional (3D) image signals and displaying 2D or 3D images, anda driving method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, people perceive a stereoscopic effect physiologically andexperientially. In three-dimensional image display technology, astereoscopic effect of an object is produced by using binocularparallax, which is a primary factor in recognizing a stereoscopic effectat a short distance.

Typically, a stereoscopic image display device uses a method usingoptical elements to spatially divide left and right images to display astereoscopic image. Typical stereoscopic methods include a method usinga lenticular lens array and a method using a parallax barrier.

In addition, a stereoscopic image display device for displaying both the2D and 3D images has been developed and is commercially available.

An image quality of the stereoscopic image display device forselectively displaying 2D and 3D images may be deteriorated byoperational characteristics of the optical elements. Particularly, whenthe stereoscopic image display device is switched between a 2D drivingmode and a 3D driving mode, the image quality may be deteriorated. Whenthe 2D driving mode is switched to the 3D driving mode, the opticalelements are simultaneously switched to the 3D driving mode. Then, a 2Dimage may be displayed at a portion of a display screen through theoptical elements of the 3D driving mode. In addition, when the 3Ddriving mode is switched to the 2D driving mode, the optical elementsare simultaneously switched to the 2D driving mode. Then, a 3D image maybe displayed at a portion of the display screen through the opticalelements of the 2D driving mode. As described, when the driving mode ofthe optical elements is different from that of the portion of thedisplay screen on which the 2D or 3D image is displayed, the imagequality may be deteriorated.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form the prior artthat is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill inthe art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, provides a 2dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) image display device for controllingan optical element according to a driving mode corresponding to an inputimage signal, and driving method and an electronic image display devicethereof.

In addition, an exemplary embodiment according to the present inventionprovides a 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) image display devicefor reducing or preventing image quality deterioration caused when theinput image signal is changed from a 2D image signal to a 3D imagesignal or vice versa, and a driving method and an electronic imagedisplay device thereof.

An exemplary 2D/3D image display device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention generates 2D or 3D image data according to aninput image signal and displays an image corresponding to the 2D or 3Dimage data. The 2D/3D image display device includes a display unit and acontroller. The display unit includes a display panel for displaying theimage corresponding to the 2D or 3D image data, and an optical elementlayer operative in a second driving mode or a first driving mode inaccordance with the 2D or 3D image data. The controller converts theoptical element layer to be in the first driving mode in a first periodbefore a 3D image signal is displayed on the display panel when theinput image signal changes from a 2D image signal to the 3D imagesignal, and converts the optical element layer to be in the seconddriving mode in a second period after the 3D image signal is displayedon the display panel when the input image signal changes from the 3Dimage signal to the 2D image signal.

An exemplary 2D/3D image display device according to another embodimentof the present invention receives an image signal and generates 2D or 3Dimage data according to the image signal. The 2D/3D image display deviceincludes a controller and a display unit. The controller detects theimage signal to determine whether the image signal is a 2D image signalor a 3D image signal, determines a 2D driving mode or a 3D driving mode,and generates the 2D or 3D image data corresponding to the 2D imagesignal or the 3D image signal. The display unit includes a plurality ofdata lines, a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of pixels defined bythe data lines and the scan lines, and an optical element layer forallowing an image to pass through an entire area of the optical elementlayer in the 2D driving mode and including an opaque region in the 3Ddriving mode. The controller is adapted to drive the optical elementlayer in the 3D driving mode when the image signal changes from the 2Dimage signal to the 3D image signal, and to drive the optical elementlayer in the 2D driving mode after one frame of the 2D image signal isdisplayed on the display unit when the image signal changes from the 3Dimage signal to the 2D image signal.

An exemplary 2D/3D image display device according to a furtherembodiment of the present invention displays a 2D image or a 3D image ona display unit according to an input image signal. The display unitincludes an optical element layer adapted to operate in one mode among afirst driving mode and a second driving mode according to the inputimage signal. A black screen is displayed for one frame between a frameof a 2D image signal and a frame of a 3D image signal and a driving modeof the optical element layer is converted to the first driving mode whenthe input image signal changes from the 2D image signal to the 3D imagesignal, and the black screen is displayed for one frame between theframe of the 3D image signal and the frame of the 2D image signal andthe driving mode of the optical element layer changes to the seconddriving mode when the input image signal is changed from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal.

An exemplary 2D/3D image display device according to a still furtherembodiment of the present invention receives an image signal anddisplays a 2D image or a 3D image according to the input image signal.The 2D/3D image display device includes a controller, a display panel,an optical element layer, a light source, a light source controller, andan optical element layer driver. The controller detects the imagesignal, determines whether the image signal is a 2D image signal or a 3Dimage signal, and determines a 2D driving mode or a 3D driving modeaccording to the image signal. The display panel includes a plurality ofpixels. The optical element layer allows an entire said 2D image to betransmitted (or to pass through) in the 2D driving mode, and includes anopaque region in the 3D driving mode. The light source provides abacklight to the display panel. The light source controller turns offthe light source for a first period between a frame of the 2D imagesignal and a frame of the 3D image signal when the image signal changesfrom the 2D image signal to the 3D image signal, and turns off the lightsource for a second period between the frame of the 3D image signal andthe frame of the 2D image signal when the image signal changes from the3D image signal to the 2D image signal. The optical element layer driverconverts the driving mode of the optical element layer to the 3D drivingmode for the first period and converts the driving mode of the opticalelement layer to the 2D driving mode for the second period according toan operation of the controller.

In an exemplary driving method of a 2D/3D image display device includinga display unit for displaying a 2D image or a 3D image according to animage signal and an optical element layer having a first driving modeand a second driving mode according to the 3D image or the 2D image, a)the image signal is detected to determine whether the image signal is a2D image signal or a 3D image signal, b) it is determined whether theimage signal of a current frame and the image signal of a previous frameare respectively the 2D and 3D image signals or the 3D and 2D imagesignals, c) according to a result of b), when the image signal of thecurrent frame and the image signal of the previous frame arerespectively the 3D and 2D image signals, the optical element layer isdriven in the first driving mode after the 2D image signal of theprevious frame is finished, and d) according to the result of b), whenthe image signal of the current frame and the image signal of theprevious frame are respectively the 2D image signal and the 3D imagesignal, the optical element layer is driven in the second driving modeafter the 2D image signal of the current frame is finished.

In an exemplary driving method of a 2D/3d image display device fordisplaying a 2D or 3D image according to an image signal, a) the imagesignal is detected to determine whether the image signal is a 2D imagesignal or a 3D image signal, b) it is determined whether the imagesignal of a current frame and the image signal of a previous frame arerespectively the 2D and 3D image signals or the 3D and 2D image signals,and c) according to a result of b), when the image signal of the currentframe and the image signal of the previous frame are respectively the 3Dand 2D image signals, one frame of a black screen is provided betweenthe current frame and the previous frame. In d), according to the resultof b), when the image signal of the current frame and the image signalof the previous frame are respectively the 2D and 3D image signals, theone frame of the black screen may be provided between the current frameand the previous frame. The 2D/3D image display device may furtherinclude an optical element layer having a first driving modecorresponding to the 3D image signal and a second driving modecorresponding to the 2D image signal. In this case, in c), a drivingmode of the optical element layer may be converted at a time when theblack screen of the one frame is started, and in d), the driving mode ofthe optical element layer may be converted after the black screen of theone frame is displayed on the display panel.

In an exemplary driving method of a 2D/3D image display device includinga display panel for displaying a 2D or 3D image according to an imagesignal and a light source for providing a backlight to the displaypanel, a) the image signal is detected to determine whether the imagesignal is a 2D image signal or a 3D image signal, b) it is determinedwhether the image signal of a current frame and the image signal of aprevious frame are respectively the 2D and 3D image signals or the 3Dand 2D image signals, and c) according to a result of b), when the imagesignal of the current frame and the image signal of the previous frameare respectively the 3D and 2D image signals, the light source is turnedoff for a first period between the current frame and the previous frame.In addition, d) according to the result of b), the light source may beturned off for a second period between the current frame and theprevious frame when the image signal of the current frame and the imagesignal of the previous frame are respectively the 2D image signal andthe 3D image signal.

An exemplary electronic image display device according to an embodimentof the present invention includes a display panel and an optical elementlayer. The display panel includes a plurality of data lines, a pluralityof scan lines, and a plurality of pixels defined by the data lines andthe scan lines. The optical element layer operates in a first mode or asecond mode according to an input signal, the optical element layerbeing adjacent the display panel. The optical element layer is driven inthe first mode within a first period before a previous plane image ischanged to a current stereoscopic image, and is driven in the seconddriving mode after a second period from a time when a previousstereoscopic image is changed to a current plane image.

An exemplary electronic image display device according to anotherembodiment of the present invention includes a display panel and anoptical element layer. The display panel includes a plurality of datalines, a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of pixels defined by thedata lines and the scan lines, the pixels being defined in at least afirst area and a second area of the display panel. The optical elementlayer corresponds to the first area and operates in a first mode or asecond mode according to an input signal. The optical element layer isdriven in the first mode within a first period before a previous planeimage is changed to a current stereoscopic image, and is driven in thesecond mode after a second period from a time when a previousstereoscopic image is changed to a current plane image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device, whichis an electronic image display device, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a pixel of a liquid crystal displaypanel according to a first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a pixel circuit of a display panel using anorganic electroluminescent element (e.g., an organic light emittingdiode (OLED)) according to a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a pixel circuit according to a third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an observer observing a stereoscopic imagethrough left eye pixels and right eye pixels, and further showing across-section of a light source, a panel, and a barrier from I to I′.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a controller according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a selection unit according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram representing an image signal, image data, and abarrier driving mode at the same point in time.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a driving method of a 2D/3D imagedisplay device according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a controller according to a fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram representing an image data signal and a barrierdriving mode of a 2D/3D image display device according to the fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplaryembodiments of the present invention have been shown and described,simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art wouldrealize, the described embodiments may be modified in various differentways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regardedas illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numeralsdesignate like elements throughout the specification.

Throughout this specification and the claims that follow, unlessexplicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variationssuch as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply theinclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any otherelements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a stereoscopic image display device, whichis an electronic image display device, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the stereoscopic image display device according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present invention may selectivelydisplay a 2D image or a 3D image. The stereoscopic image display deviceincludes a controller 100, a display unit 200, a data driver 300, a scandriver 400, a barrier driver 500, a light source controller 600, and auser interface 700.

The controller 100 externally receives a 2D/3D image signal IS, ahorizontal synchronization signal Hsync, and a vertical synchronizationsignal Vsync, generates a scan driver control signal SS, a data drivercontrol signal SD, an image data signal DAT, a light source controllercontrol signal SL, and a barrier driver control signal SB, andrespectively outputs them to the scan driver 400, the data driver 300,the light source controller 600, and the barrier driver 500. Here, the2D/3D image signal IS input to the controller 100 may be one amongordinary 2D image data, 3D graphic data including 3D spatial coordinateand surface information of an object used to stereoscopically display animage on a plane, and 3D image data including respective view pointimage data. The controller according to the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention determines a driving mode according to the input imagesignal or a user preference. In further detail, the driving modeincludes the 2D driving mode and the 3D driving mode, and the barrierdriver control signal SB according to each driving mode operates thebarrier driver 500 according to the corresponding driving mode.

The display unit 200 includes a light source 210, a display panel 220,and a barrier 230. The display unit 200 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention is formed by sequentially stackingthe light source 210, the display panel 220, and the barrier 230. Aparallax barrier is used as an optical element layer according to oneexemplary embodiment of the present invention, which will be simplyreferred to as the “barrier 230”. The display panel 220 according to afirst exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be a liquidcrystal display panel. While the barrier 230 covers the entire area ofthe display panel 220 in one embodiment, in other embodiments, thebarrier 230 or optical element layer may only cover a portion (“a firstarea”) of the display panel 220 while the rest of the display panel (“asecond area”) is not covered by the barrier or optical element layer. Insuch embodiments, the input image signal may include both a 2D (“plane”)image signal and a 3D (“stereoscopic”) image signal, and the first areacan be used to time-divisionally display 2D or 3D images while thesecond area is used to display 2D images only.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a pixel of the liquid crystal displaypanel according to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 2, a pixel 221 connected to a scan lineSCANi and a data line DATAj includes a switch Q, a liquid crystalcapacitor Clc, and a sustain capacitor Cst.

The display panel 220 includes a plurality of scan lines (not shown) fortransmitting selection signals S1 to Sn, a plurality of data lines (notshown) that are insulated from the plurality of scan lines, cross theplurality of scan lines, and transmit data signals D1 to Dm, and aplurality of subpixels (not shown) formed at crossing regions of thescan lines and the data lines. In the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, it is assumed that a red subpixel for displaying redR, a green subpixel for displaying green G, and a blue subpixel fordisplaying blue B form one pixel.

The display panel according to a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention may use an organic electroluminescent element ratherthan a liquid crystal pixel that is a light receiving element.

In further detail, the organic electroluminescent element may be formedultra-thin, and it has superior color reproducibility. In addition,since the organic electroluminescent element has a high response speedand is formed as a self emission type device, the luminance is great,the configuration thereof is simplified, and it may be easilymanufactured to have light weight.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a pixel circuit of a display panel 220 using theorganic electroluminescent element according to the second exemplaryembodiment. When pixel circuits including an organic electroluminescentelement are used in the display panel 220 of FIG. 1, a backlight such asthe light source 210 of FIG. 1 is not required, since organicelectroluminescent elements are self-emissive. The display panel 220including the pixel circuit of FIG. 3 or the display panel including apixel circuit of FIG. 4 below can be used, for example, without thelight source 210.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pixel circuit includes an organic light emittingdiode OLED, a switching transistor SW1, a diode-connection transistorSW2, a driving transistor SW3, and capacitors C1 and C2. Here, theswitching transistor SW1 is formed as an N-type transistor, thediode-connection transistor SW2 is formed as an N-type transistor, andthe driving transistor SW3 is formed as a P-type transistor. In otherembodiments, the transistors may be formed as opposite-type transistorsaccording to a gate signal applied from a gate line. An operation of thepixel circuit including a threshold voltage compensation unit will bedescribed.

First, when the switching transistor SW1 is turned on by applying afirst selection signal to a first gate line (or scan line) GL1, a datavoltage is applied to a node A1. At this time, the data voltage is VDD.

Subsequently, when the diode-connection transistor SW2 is turned on by asecond selection signal transmitted from a second gate line GL2 whilethe switching transistor SW1 is turned on, a gate and a drain of thedriving thin film transistor SW3 are connected to be a diode-typetransistor. Thereby, the two diodes (OLED and SW3) are electricallycoupled on a current path between a first power source voltage VDD and asecond power source voltage VSS, and a voltage at a node A2 correspondsto a difference (VDD−|Vth|) obtained by subtracting an absolute value ofa threshold voltage Vth of the driving transistor SW3 from the firstpower source voltage VDD. In this case, the difference is simultaneously(or concurrently) applied to a gate terminal of the driving transistorSW3 and a terminal of the first capacitor C1. When the diode-connectiontransistor SW2 is turned off by the second selection signal transmittedfrom the second gate line GL2, the data voltage Vdata is applied to theother terminal of the first capacitor C1. The data voltage Vdataaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is avoltage of a data signal Di.

In this case, since the threshold voltage is charged in the firstcapacitor C1 in a compensation step, a time for reaching a saturationtime of the driving transistor SW3 may be reduced. When the drivingtransistor SW3 is operated, a current flows to the OLED through thedriving transistor SW3 in response to the data signal Vdata, and lightemission is performed.

In this case, since a voltage difference applied between the terminalsof the first capacitor C1 is a voltage of Vth with respect to the nodeA2 and a voltage difference applied between the terminals of the secondcapacitor C2 is a voltage of (Vdata−VDD) with respect to the node A1, avoltage Vgs (Vth+Vdata−VDD) applied between a gate and a source of thedriving thin film transistor SW3 is a voltage generated when the firstcapacitor C1 and the second capacitor C2 are connected in series. Inthis case, a relationship between the voltage Vgs and the currentsupplied to the OLED is shown as Equation 1.

$\begin{matrix}{I_{OLED} = {{\frac{\beta}{2}\mspace{11mu} \left( {{Vgs} - {Vth}} \right)^{2}} = {\frac{\beta}{2}\mspace{11mu} \left( {{Vdata} - {VDD}} \right)^{2}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a pixel circuit according to a third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. An OLED display according to thethird exemplary embodiment of the present invention further includes alight emission control line for transmitting a light emission controlsignal to the display panel.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pixel circuit according to the third exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes first to sixth transistorsT1 to T6 and first and second capacitive elements C11 and C12. A sourceelectrode of the third transistor T3 including a gate electrode coupledto the scan line SCANi for receiving a selection signal Si iselectrically coupled to the data line, and a drain electrode thereof iselectrically coupled to a drain electrode of the first transistor T1. Agate electrode of the first transistor T1 is electrically coupled to aterminal of the second capacitive element C12, and the other terminal ofthe second capacitive element C12 is coupled to the gate electrode ofthe third transistor T3 and the scan line SCANi. A source electrode ofthe first transistor T1 is electrically coupled to a source electrode ofthe second transistor T2 and a drain electrode of the fifth transistorT5. A gate electrode of the second transistor T2 is electrically coupledto the scan line SCANi. A source electrode of the fifth transistor T5 iselectrically coupled to the first power source voltage VDD, and a gateelectrode thereof is electrically coupled to a gate electrode of thesixth transistor T6. In addition, the sixth transistor T6 is positionedbetween the first transistor T1 and an anode of the OLED, and the gateelectrode of the sixth transistor T6 is electrically coupled to thelight emission control line Emi for transmitting the light emissioncontrol signal. The gate electrode of the first transistor T1 iselectrically coupled to a source electrode of the fourth transistor T4and a terminal of the first capacitive element C11, and the otherterminal of the first capacitive element C11 is electrically coupled tothe first power source voltage VDD. In addition, a drain electrode ofthe fourth transistor T4 is electrically coupled to an initializationvoltage line Vinit, and a gate electrode of the fourth transistor T4 iselectrically coupled to a previous scan line SCANi−1.

The first transistor T1 is a driving transistor for converting a voltageapplied between the gate electrode and the source electrode into acurrent, and the second transistor T2 is a diode-connection transistorfor diode connecting the first transistor T1. In addition, the thirdtransistor T3 is a switching transistor for applying the data signal Djapplied to the data line DATAj to the first transistor T1 according tothe scan signal Si.

The fourth transistor T4 is a switching transistor for applying aninitialization voltage applied to the initialization line to the firstcapacitive element C11, and the fifth transistor T5 is a switchingtransistor for applying the first power source voltage to the sourceelectrode of the first transistor T.

The sixth transistor T6 is a switching transistor for selectivelyinterrupting the current output from the first transistor T1 from theOLED according to the light emission control signal applied to the lightemission control line Emi.

The second capacitive element C12 stores a threshold voltage of thefirst transistor T1 and compensates a deviation according to thethreshold voltage of the first transistor T1. The first capacitiveelement C11 maintains the data voltage applied between the gateelectrode and the source electrode of the first transistor T1.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the plurality ofpixels of the display panel 220 include pixels corresponding to aleft-eye image (hereinafter, referred to as “left-eye pixels”) andpixels corresponding to a right-eye image (hereinafter, referred to as“right-eye pixels”). In this case, the left-eye and right-eye pixels arealternately arranged. In further detail, the left-eye and right-eyepixels are alternately arranged in parallel to each other to form astripe or zigzag shape. The arrangement of the left-eye and right-eyepixels may appropriately vary according to the barrier 230.

The barrier 230 is provided at a surface of the display panel 220, andit includes opaque regions and transparent regions formed to correspondto the arrangement of the left-eye and right-eye pixels of the displaypanel 220. When operating the barrier 230 according to the 3D drivingmode, the barrier 230 uses the opaque regions and the transparentregions to separately provide the left-eye image and the right-eye imagefrom the left-eye and right-eye pixels of the display panel 220 in aleft eye direction and a right eye direction of an observer. The opaqueregions and the transparent regions of the barrier 230 may be formed inthe stripe or zigzag shape according to the arrangement of the left-eyeand right-eye pixels of the display panel 220. The barrier according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present invention controls all thebarrier regions to be transparent regions in the 2D driving mode so thatan image displayed on the display panel 220 is transmitted (or passes)through the barrier in its entirety.

The light source 210 includes red R, green G, and blue B light emittingdiodes (not shown), and outputs lights corresponding to red R, green G,and blue B to the display panel 220 when the display panel 220 is aliquid crystal display panel using the pixel circuit of FIG. 2, forexample, or any other suitable non-self emissive display panel. The redR, green G, and blue B light emitting diodes of the light source 210respectively output red, green and blue lights to the R subpixel, Gsubpixel, and B subpixel of the display panel 220 in this case.

A method for perceiving a stereoscopic image by an observer through thedisplay panel 220 and the barrier 230 shown in FIG. 1 will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing anobserver observing the stereoscopic image formed by the left-eye pixelsand the right-eye pixels, and further showing a cross-section of thelight source 210, the panel 220, and the barrier 230 from I to I′.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display panel 220 includes a plurality ofleft-eye pixels 221 and a plurality of right-eye pixels 222 that arealternately arranged, and the barrier 230 includes opaque regions 231and transparent regions 232 that are alternately arranged in parallel inthe same direction as the arrangement direction of the plurality ofleft-eye pixels 221 and the plurality of right-eye pixels 222. Theleft-eye pixels 221 of the display panel 220 project the left-eye imageto a left eye through the transparent region 232 of the barrier 230, andthe right-eye pixels 222 of the display panel 220 project the right-eyeimage to a right eye through the transparent region 232 of the barrier230. The opaque regions 231 of the barrier 230 define a light projectionpath so that the left-eye pixels 221 and the right-eye pixels 222 of thedisplay panel 220 may respectively project the image to the left eye andthe right eye through the transparent regions 232.

The left-eye image projected from the left-eye pixels 221 is formed tohave a predetermined disparity with respect to the right-eye image, andthe right-eye image projected from the right-eye pixels 222 is formed tohave a predetermined disparity with respect to the left-eye image.Accordingly, when the observer respectively perceives the left-eye imageprojected from the left-eye pixels 221 and the right-eye image projectedfrom the right-eye pixels 222 through the left and right eyes of theobserver, depth information of an actual stereoscopic object isobtained, and a stereoscopic effect may be achieved.

The data driver 300 generates an image signal corresponding to anapplied image data DAT, and applies it to the data lines D1 to Dm of thedisplay panel 220 according to the data driver control signal. The imagesignal according to the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionmay be an analog data voltage that is inverted from the image data DAT.

The scan driver 400 sequentially generates the selection signals S1 toSn in response to the scan driver control signal SG output from thecontroller 100 to respectively apply them to the plurality of scan linesof the display panel 220.

The light source controller 600 controls a lighting period of the lightemitting diodes of the light source 210 in response to the controlsignal SL output from the controller 100. In this case, a period forsupplying an analog data voltage from the data driver 300 to the dataline and a period for lighting the red R, green G, and blue B lightemitting diodes by the light source controller 600 may be synchronizedby the control signal supplied from the controller 100.

The user interface 700 receives operational commands including thedriving mode and transmits them to the controller 100. A user selectionsignal Uc selects one among the 2D or 3D driving mode. When receivingthe user selection signal Uc, the user interface 700 transmits thedriving mode selected by the user to the controller 100. A configurationof the controller according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the controller 100 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 100 includes a selection unit 110, a3D image processing unit 120, a 2D image processing unit 130, and atiming controller 140.

The selection unit 110 analyzes the input image signal to determinewhether it is the 2D image signal or the 3D image signal, and determinesthe driving mode according to the user selection signal Uc.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the selection unit 110 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the selection unit 110 includes a 2D/3D detector111, a driving mode determiner 112, a barrier driving mode determiner113, and an image signal output unit 114.

The 2D/3D detector 111 analyzes the image signal to determine whether itis a 2D image signal or a 3D image signal, and transmits a determinationresult to the driving mode determiner 112. In further detail, the imagesignal may respectively include determination signals according to the2D and 3D image signals. The 2D/3D detector 111 detects the respectivedetermination signals according to the 2D and 3D image signals, anddetermines whether the input image signal is a 2D image signal or a 3Dimage signal. The driving mode determiner 112 determines the drivingmode according to the image signal detection result and the userselection signal Uc. In further detail, when the image signal isdetected to be a 2D image signal and the user selection signal Ucindicates the 3D driving mode, the driving mode determiner 112 uses the2D image signal to determine whether 3D image data can be generated. Anadditional configuration and/or components may be required to generatethe 3D image data, but the 2D/3D image display device does not includethe additional configuration in one exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In other embodiments, the 2D/3D image display device mayinclude additional components and/or configuration for generating 3Dimage data. When the driving mode determiner 112 cannot generate the 3Dimage data by using the 2D image signal because it does not includeadditional configuration and/or components, the driving mode determiner112 determines the 2D driving mode regardless of the user selectionsignal Uc. When the 2D image signal cannot be converted to 3D imagedata, 2D image data are displayed on the display panel. In this case,when the barrier is in the 3D driving mode, the image quality may bedeteriorated. In the 2D/3D image display device according to oneexemplary embodiment of the present invention and the driving methodthereof, when the user selects the 3D image and the 2D image signalcannot be converted to 3D image data, the barrier may be maintained tobe in the 2D driving mode regardless of the user selection. However,when the 2D/3D image display device according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes the configuration and/orcomponents for converting 2D image data to 3D image data, the drivingmode is controlled according to the user selection signal Uc.

When the user selection is the 2D driving mode and a 3D image signal isinput, the 3D image signal is displayed in the 2D driving mode accordingto the user selection. Since the 3D image signal generally includes a 2Dimage signal, the controller 100 detects the 2D image signal from the 3Dimage signal and uses the detected 2D image signal to generate 2D imagedata. When the user selection signal is not detected, the driving modedeterminer 112 determines the driving mode according to the imagesignal. After determining the driving mode, the driving mode determiner112 transmits the determined driving mode to the image signal outputunit 114 and the barrier driving mode determiner 113.

The barrier driving mode determiner 113 determines the barrier drivingmode according to the input driving mode from the driving modedeterminer 112. The barrier driving mode determiner 113 generates abarrier driving mode control signal, and transmits it to the timingcontroller 140. The barrier driving mode control signal corresponds tothe determined driving mode. In a case of the 2D driving mode, in oneembodiment, the barrier is controlled so that the image displayed on thedisplay panel entirely passes through the barrier. In a case of the 3Ddriving mode, the barrier is controlled so as to be divided into opaqueregions and transparent regions. When the driving mode is converted fromthe 2D driving mode to the 3D driving mode, the barrier driving modedeterminer 113 generates a barrier driving mode control signal forconverting the barrier driving mode to the 3D driving mode and transmitsthe barrier driving mode control signal to the timing controller 140before the 3D image data are transmitted to the data line by the datadriver 300. When the driving mode is converted from the 3D driving modeto the 2D driving mode, the barrier is maintained to be in the 3Ddriving mode until one 2D image data frame is displayed on the entiredisplay panel 220. Right afterwards, the barrier driving mode determinergenerates the barrier driving mode control signal for converting thebarrier driving mode to the 3D driving mode, and transmits the barrierdriving mode control signal to the timing controller 140.

The image signal output unit 114 transmits the image signal to the 3Dimage processing unit 120 or the 2D image processing unit 130 accordingto the driving mode transmitted from the driving mode determiner 112.The image signal output unit 114 according to the exemplary embodimentof the present invention stores the image signal for a period of time(e.g., a predetermined time), and then transmits the image signal to the3D image processing unit 120 or the 2D image processing unit 130according to the determined driving mode after the driving mode has beendetermined. The period of time may be shorter than one frame of theimage data.

The 3D image processing unit 120 generates the stereoscopic image databased on the input 3D image signal, and transmits the generatedstereoscopic image data to the timing controller 140.

The 2D image processing unit 130 generates the image data based on theinput 2D image signal, and transmits the generated image data to thetiming controller 140.

The timing controller 140 externally receives a horizontalsynchronization signal Hsync and a vertical synchronization signalVsync. In addition, the timing controller 140 receives the image datafrom the 3D image processing unit 120 or the 2D image processing unit130, and receives the barrier driving mode control signal from theselection unit 110. The timing controller 140 transmits the image datato the data driver 300 according to the horizontal synchronizationsignal Hsync and the vertical synchronization signal Vsync, andtransmits the scan driver control signal to the scan driver. The timingcontroller 140 transmits a signal for driving the barrier according tothe barrier driving mode control signal to the barrier. When the drivingmode is converted from the 2D driving mode to the 3D driving mode, thetiming controller 140 transmits a barrier control signal for indicatingthe 3D driving mode after one frame of the 2D image data is finished.Further, when the driving mode is converted from the 3D driving mode tothe 2D driving mode, the timing controller 140 transmits the barriercontrol signal for indicating the 2D driving mode after one frame of the2D image data is finished. The timing controller 140 transmits thecontrol signal SL for controlling the lighting of the light source tothe light source controller.

A method for driving the barrier 230 by the barrier driver 500 accordingto the barrier control signal transmitted from the timing controller 140will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a diagram representing the image signal, image data, and thebarrier driving mode at the same point in time.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the image signal changes from a 2D image signalto a 3D image signal at a time T1, the barrier driving mode controlsignal generated by the selection unit is transmitted to the timingcontroller 140, and the timing controller 140 detects the barrierdriving mode control signal and an ending point of one frame of the last2D image data and transmits the barrier control signal for indicatingthe 3D driving mode to the barrier driver. This way, the barrier drivingmode is substantially converted to the 3D driving mode at the time T1.Further, when the image signal changes from the 3D image signal to the2D image signal at a time T2, the barrier driving mode control signalgenerated by the selection unit is transmitted to the timing controller140, and the timing controller 140 detects the barrier driving modecontrol signal and the ending point of one frame of the first 2D imagedata and transmits the barrier control signal for indicating the 2Ddriving mode to the barrier driver. This way, the barrier driving modeis converted to the 2D driving mode at a time T3.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representing a driving method of the 2D/3D imagedisplay device according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the 2D or 3D driving mode isdetermined according to the currently input image signal regardless ofthe user selection signal.

The controller 100 receives the image signal in step S100, anddetermines in step S200 whether the input image signal is a 2D or 3Dimage signal. When it is determined in step S200 that the input imagesignal is a 2D image signal, the controller 100 determines in step S220whether the image signal of an immediately previous frame is a 3D imagesignal. When it is determined in step S220 that the image signal of theimmediately previous frame is not the 3D image signal, the barrierdriver maintains the barrier driving mode to be in the 2D driving modein step S221. The data driver 300 then transmits the 2D image data tothe display panel in step S225. When it is determined in step S220 thatthe image signal of the immediately previous frame is a 3D image signal,the controller determines in step S222 whether the 2D image data of oneframe is transmitted to the data driver 300. When the 2D image data ofthe frame is not transmitted, the barrier driver maintains the barrierdriving mode to be the 3D driving mode in step S223. When the 2D imagedata of the one first frame is output from the data driver 300 to thedisplay panel after the input image signal is changed from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal in step S221, the barrier driver 500converts the barrier driving mode to the 2D driving mode in step S224.The data driver 300 transmits the 2D image data to the display panelS225.

When it is determined in step S200 that the input image signal is a 3Dimage signal, the controller 100 determines in step S210 whether theimage signal of the immediately previous frame is a 2D image signal.When it is determined in step S210 that the image signal of theimmediately previous frame is not a 2D image signal, the barrier driver500 maintains the barrier driving mode to be the 3D driving mode in stepS213. The data driver 300 transmits the 3D image data to the displaypanel in step S212. When it is determined in step S210 that the imagesignal of the immediately previous frame is a 2D image signal, thebarrier driver 500 converts the barrier driving mode to the 3D drivingmode in step S211. The data driver 300 transmits the 3D image data tothe display panel S212.

As described, in the 2D/3D image display device, which is an electronicimage display device, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention and the driving method thereof, the barrier drivingmode is converted to the 3D driving mode before the 3D image isdisplayed, and therefore a clearer 3D image may be provided. Inaddition, when the 3D image is changed to a 2D image (i.e., the inputimage signal is changed from a 3D image signal to a 2D image signal),during a period of displaying the 2D image of the first one frame, the3D image is displayed clearer on a partial area (or portion) of thedisplay panel.

Further, when the 2D image is changed to the 3D image or the 3D image ischanged to the 2D image, the 2D image and the 3D image are displayedtogether on the display panel. In this case, the barrier is controlled,and therefore the image quality may be improved. However, during oneframe for converting the 2D image to the 3D image or the 3D image to the2D image, the user may see the 2D image through the barrier of the 3Ddriving mode on a partial area (or portion) of the display panel, or theuser may see the 3D image through the barrier of the 2D driving mode.The driving method of the 2D/3D image display device to prevent theabove problem will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

The 2D/3D image display device, which is an electronic image displaydevice, according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a controller 100′ according to the fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, the controller 100′ includes a selection unit 110′,an image processing unit 120′, and a timing controller 130′.

The selection unit 110′ detects the input image signal and determineswhether it is a 2D image signal or a 3D image signal. The selection unit110′ generates a first driving mode change control signal when itdetects that the input image signal has changed from a 2D image signalto a 3D image signal, and the selection unit 110′ generates a seconddriving mode change control signal when it detects that the input imagesignal has changed from a 3D image signal to a 2D image signal. Thegenerated first and second driving mode change control signals aretransmitted to the timing controller 130′ and the image processing unit120′. The selection unit 110′ transmits the input image signal to theimage processing unit 120′.

The image processing unit 120′ includes a 2D image processing unit (notshown) and a 3D image processing unit (not shown). When the image signalis a 2D image signal, the 2D image signal is input to the 2D imageprocessing unit 120′ and 2D image data are generated. When the imagesignal is a 3D image signal, the 3D image signal is input to the 3Dimage processing unit 120′ and the 3D image data are generated. Thegenerated 2D and 3D image data are transmitted to the timing controller130′. When the first and second driving mode change control signals areinput, the image processing unit 120′ generates the image data fordisplaying a black screen and transmits the image data to the timingcontroller 130′.

The timing controller 130′ receives the vertical synchronization signal,the horizontal synchronization signal, the first and second driving modechange control signals, and the image data. The timing controller 130′transmits the image data to the data driver according to the verticalsynchronization signal and the horizontal synchronization signal, andtransmits the scan control signal to the scan driver.

When the timing controller 130 receives the first driving mode changecontrol signal, the timing controller 130 generates the barrier drivercontrol signal for changing the barrier driving mode to the 3D drivingmode, transmits the barrier driver control signal to the barrier driver,and transmits the image data for displaying the black screen to the datadriver for one frame. When the timing controller 130′ receives thesecond driving mode change control signal, the timing controller 130′transmits the image data for displaying the black screen to the datadriver for one frame, generates the barrier driver control signal forchanging the barrier driving mode to the 2D driving mode, and transmitsthe barrier driver control signal to the barrier driver. The data driver(not shown) transmits the image data for displaying the black screenthat are output according to the first and second driving mode changecontrol signals to the display panel for one frame. Thereby, since the3D image data are not displayed on the display panel while the barrierdriving mode is converted from the 2D driving mode to the 3D drivingmode, the 2D image and the 3D image are not simultaneously (orconcurrently) displayed on the display panel. In addition, while thebarrier driving mode is converted from the 3D driving mode to the 2Ddriving mode, the 3D image data are not displayed on the display panel.Accordingly, the 2D image and the 3D image are not simultaneously (orconcurrently) displayed on the display panel.

The driving method will be described in further detail with respect toFIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a diagram representing an image data signal and a barrierdriving mode of a 2D/3D image display device according to the fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, when the image signal changes from a 2Dimage signal to a 3D image signal at a time T4, the selection unit 110′generates a first driving mode change signal. The generated firstdriving mode change signal is transmitted to the image processing unit120′, and the image processing unit 120′ generates the image data fordisplaying the black screen for a period T11. The period T11 accordingto the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention correspondsto one frame. The timing controller 130′ transmits the barrier drivercontrol signal for converting the barrier driving mode to the 3D drivingmode according to the first driving mode change signal at a time BS1 orafter the time BS1. The barrier is generally realized as a liquidcrystal display panel, and a time delay is caused by characteristics ofthe liquid crystal until the driving mode is changed. Accordingly, whenthe time delay is longer than one frame, it is required to convert thebarrier driving mode from the 2D driving mode to the 3D driving modeaccording to the time delay at the time BS1 or between the time BS1 anda time BS2. When the time delay is not longer than one frame, thebarrier driving mode is converted to the 3D driving mode at the time BS2or soon after the time BS2 in consideration of the time delay. Thereby,the barrier driving mode is converted from the 2D driving mode to the 3Ddriving mode within a period T21.

In addition, when the image signal changes from a 3D image signal to a2D image signal at a time T5, the selection unit 110′ generates a seconddriving mode change signal. The generated second driving mode changesignal is transmitted to the image processing unit 120′, and the imageprocessing unit 120′ generates the image data for displaying the blackscreen during a period T12. The period T12 according to the fourthexemplary embodiment of the present invention corresponds to one frame.The timing controller 130′ transmits the barrier driver control signalfor converting the barrier driving mode to the 2D driving mode accordingto the second driving mode change signal during a time BS3 or after thetime BS3. The barrier driver converts the barrier driving mode from the3D driving mode to the 2D driving mode according to the barrier drivercontrol signal during the period T22. In further detail, since the timedelay may be caused according to the barrier driving mode variation, thebarrier driving mode conversion is started at the time BS3 to expeditethe conversion of the driving mode.

In a similar manner as a method for inserting the black screen of oneframe, the 2D/3D image display device in one exemplary embodiment mayuse the light source to prevent the 2D and 3D images from beingsimultaneously (or concurrently) displayed on the display panel, whenthe display panel 220 is a liquid crystal display panel or othersuitable non-self emissive display panel. In further detail, when thetiming controller 130 receives the first and second driving mode changesignals, the timing controller 130 turns off the light source andmaintains the light source in the turned off state during the period T11or the period T12. That is, the timing controller 130 transmits a lightsource turn-off control signal to the light source controller 600 duringthe period T11 and the period T12, and the light source controller 600turns off the light source according to the light source turn-offcontrol signal during the period T11 and the T12. In addition, thetiming controller 130′ starts to perform the barrier driving modeconversion from a time for turning off the light source according to thefirst and second driving mode change signals. Thereby, the same effectas the black screen on the display panel may be achieved. In this case,the timing controller 130′ does not output the image data output fromthe image processing unit 120′ for one frame, and then the timingcontroller 130′ may transmit the image data that are delayed for oneframe to the data driver 300. In this case, the light source may beturned off during the period T21 that is longer than the period T11according to the delay caused by the barrier driving mode variation.Accordingly, while the barrier driving mode is changed, the same effectas that of the black screen is performed on the display panel.

As described, when it is detected that the 2D image is changed to the 3Dimage or the 3D image is changed to the 2D image, the selection unit ofthe 2D/3D image display device according to the fourth exemplaryembodiment of the present invention generates the driving mode changesignal and transmits it to the timing controller. According to thedriving mode conversion signal, the timing controller does not transmitthe first image data to the data driver, and it transmits the image datafor displaying the black screen to the data driver. In addition, thetiming controller transmits the control signal for converting thebarrier driving mode to the barrier driver. When the 2D image is changedto the 3D image, the barrier driving mode may be converted during aperiod for displaying the black screen on the display panel. Inaddition, when the 3D image is changed to the 2D image, the barrierdriving mode is started to be converted after one frame of the blackscreen is entirely displayed, so that the 3D image may not be displayedon the 2D driving mode. Accordingly, in the 2D/3D image display deviceaccording to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present inventionand the driving mode, the image quality deterioration caused by thedriving mode variation may be reduced or prevented when the image signalchanges from a 2D image signal to a 3D image signal and vice versa.

In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, while it has beendescribed that the display panel displays a 2D image (i.e., a planeimage) or a 3D image (i.e., a stereoscopic image), it is not limitedthereto. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a partialarea (or portion) of the display panel may display the stereoscopicimage. In this case, the externally input image signal may include bothof the stereoscopic image signal and the plane image signal. Further,the display panel includes a first area that time-divisionally displaysthe stereoscopic image or the plane image according to the stereoscopicimage signal or the plane image signal, and a second area that displaysthe plane image or the stereoscopic image. The first area may be drivenaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. That is,the electronic image display device according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes the barrier correspondingto the first area of the display panel, and the barrier is drivenaccording to the image displayed on the first area. In this case, whenthe second area displays only a plane image, the electronic imagedisplay device according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention may not include the barrier corresponding to the second area.When the second area displays only the stereoscopic image, theelectronic image display device according to the exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention includes the barrier corresponding to the secondarea, and the barrier is driven in the driving mode for displaying thestereoscopic image.

According to the 2D/3D image display device according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the driving method, and theelectronic image display device, when the image signal changes from the2D image signal to the 3D image signal or changes from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal on the display panel displaying the imageor the partial area (or portion) of the display panel, the driving modeof the optical element is synchronized with the displayed image toreduce the image quality deterioration.

According to the 2D/3D image display device according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the driving method, and theelectronic image display device, when the image signal changes from the2D image signal to the 3D image signal or changes from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal, the black screen is provided so that the2D and 3D images are not simultaneously (or concurrently) displayed onone screen, and the image quality deterioration may be prevented orreduced.

According to the 2D/3D image display device according to one exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, the 2D image signal is preventedfrom being displayed on the 3D driving mode by the user selection, sothe image quality deterioration may be prevented or reduced.

While this invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) image display device forgenerating 2D or 3D image data according to an input image signal anddisplaying an image corresponding to the 2D or 3D image data, the 2D/3Dimage display device comprising: a display unit comprising: a displaypanel for displaying the image corresponding to the 2D or 3D image data;and an optical element layer operative in a second driving mode or afirst driving mode in accordance with the 2D or 3D image data; acontroller for converting the optical element layer to be in the firstdriving mode in a first period before a 3D image signal is displayed onthe display panel when the input image signal changes from a 2D imagesignal to the 3D image signal, and converting the optical element layerto be in the second driving mode in a second period after the 3D imagesignal is displayed on the display panel when the input image signalchanges from the 3D image signal to the 2D image signal.
 2. The 2D/3Dimage display device of claim 1, wherein, in the first driving mode, aleft-eye image and a right-eye image are generated in response to the 3Dimage signal, and the optical element layer is used to provide theleft-eye image and the right-eye image to left and right eyes,respectively, of a user.
 3. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 2,wherein the left-eye image has a predetermined disparity with respect tothe right-eye image.
 4. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 3,wherein the optical element layer is realized using a parallax barriermethod, the display panel includes a plurality of left-eye pixels and aplurality of right-eye pixels, and the optical element layer includes abarrier disposed to correspond to the left-eye pixels and the right-eyepixels.
 5. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 1, wherein the firstperiod is a period from after one frame of the 2D image signal isdisplayed on the display panel just before the input image signalchanges from the 2D image signal to the 3D image signal, until a firstframe of the 3D image signal is displayed on the display panel.
 6. The2D/3D image display device of claim 1, wherein the second period is aperiod from after the input image signal changes from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal until a first frame of the 2D image signalis displayed on the display panel.
 7. The 2D/3D image display device ofclaim 1, wherein the input image signal is displayed as a 2D image or a3D image according to a user selection.
 8. The 2D/3D image displaydevice of claim 7, wherein, when the input image signal is the 2D imagesignal and the user selects displaying a 3D image, the 2D image data aregenerated and the optical element layer is driven in the second drivingmode when the 2D image signal cannot be converted to the 3D image data.9. A 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) image display device forreceiving an image signal and generating 2D or 3D image data accordingto the image signal, the 2D/3D image display device comprising: acontroller for detecting the image signal to determine whether the imagesignal is a 2D image signal or a 3D image signal, determining a 2Ddriving mode or a 3D driving mode, and generating the 2D or 3D imagedata corresponding to the 2D image signal or the 3D image signal; and adisplay unit comprising a plurality of data lines, a plurality of scanlines, a plurality of pixels defined by the data lines and the scanlines, and an optical element layer for allowing an image to passthrough an entire area of the optical element layer in the 2D drivingmode and including an opaque region in the 3D driving mode, wherein thecontroller is adapted to drive the optical element layer in the 3Ddriving mode when the image signal changes from the 2D image signal tothe 3D image signal, and to drive the optical element layer in the 2Ddriving mode after one frame of the 2D image signal is displayed on thedisplay unit when the image signal changes from the 3D image signal tothe 2D image signal.
 10. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 9,wherein the controller is adapted to receive the image signal todetermine whether it is the 2D image signal or the 3D image signal, togenerate an optical element layer control signal of the optical elementlayer according to a result of the determination, and to generate adisplay control signal, the device further comprising a driver fortransmitting the 2D or 3D image data to the display unit according tothe display control signal, and an optical element driver forcontrolling the optical element layer according to the optical elementlayer control signal.
 11. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 10,wherein the controller comprises: a selection unit for receiving theimage signal, determining whether the image signal is the 2D imagesignal or the 3D image signal, and determining a driving mode of theoptical element layer; a 3D image processing unit for receiving the 3Dimage signal according to the determination result of the selectionunit, and generating the 3D image data; a 2D image processing unit forreceiving the 2D image signal according to the determination result ofthe selection unit, and generating the 2D image data; and a timingcontroller for transmitting the 2D image data input from the 2D imageprocessing unit or the 3D image data input from the 3D image processingunit to the driver according to an external vertical synchronizationsignal and a horizontal synchronization signal.
 12. The 2D/3D imagedisplay device of claim 11, wherein the selection unit is adapted todetect the image signal, and to generate a 2D driving mode opticalelement layer control signal and a 3D driving mode optical element layercontrol signal in response to the 2D image signal and the 3D imagesignal, respectively.
 13. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 10,wherein the driver comprises a scan driver and a data driver, the scandriver is adapted to transmit a plurality of selection signals to theplurality of scan lines according to the display control signal, and thedata driver is adapted to transmit the 2D or 3D image data to theplurality of data lines according to the display control signal.
 14. The2D/3D image display device of claim 9, wherein the optical element layeris realized using a parallax barrier method.
 15. The 2D/3D image displaydevice of claim 14, further comprising a user interface for receiving auser selection signal, and the 2D driving mode or the 3D driving mode isdetermined according to the user selection signal received from the userinterface.
 16. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 15, wherein whenthe 2D image signal is received while the user selection is the 3Ddriving mode and the controller is unable to convert the 2D image signalto the 3D image data, the controller is adapted to generate the 2D imagedata using the 2D image signal, and the optical element layer is adaptedto be driven in the 2D driving mode.
 17. A 2 dimensional (2D)/3dimensional (3D) image display device for displaying a 2D image or a 3Dimage on a display unit according to an input image signal, wherein thedisplay unit comprises an optical element layer adapted to operate inone mode among a first driving mode and a second driving mode accordingto the input image signal, and a black screen is displayed for one framebetween a frame of a 2D image signal and a frame of a 3D image signaland a driving mode of the optical element layer is converted to thefirst driving mode when the input image signal changes from the 2D imagesignal to the 3D image signal, and the black screen is displayed for oneframe between the frame of the 3D image signal and the frame of the 2Dimage signal and the driving mode of the optical element layer isconverted to the second driving mode when the input image signal changesfrom the 3D image signal to the 2D image signal.
 18. The 2D/3D imagedisplay device of claim 17, wherein, when the input image signal changesfrom the 2D image signal to the 3D image signal, the driving mode of theoptical element is converted to the first driving mode before the blackscreen of one frame is displayed.
 19. The 2D/3D image display device ofclaim 18, wherein, when the input image signal changes from the 3D imagesignal to the 2D image signal, the black screen of one frame isdisplayed, and the driving mode of the optical element layer isconverted to the second driving mode.
 20. The 2D/3D image display deviceof claim 19, wherein the input image signal is displayed as the 2D imageor the 3D image according to a user selection.
 21. The 2D/3D imagedisplay device of claim 20, wherein if the user selects displaying the3D image when the input image signal is the 2D image signal that cannotbe converted to 3D image data, the optical element layer is driven inthe second driving mode.
 22. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 17,wherein, in the first driving mode, a left-eye image and a right-eyeimage are generated in response to the 3D image signal, and the opticalelement layer is used to respectively provide the left-eye image and theright-eye image to left and right eyes of a user.
 23. A 2 dimensional(2D)/3 dimensional (3D) image display device for receiving an imagesignal and displaying a 2D image or a 3D image according to the imagesignal, the 2D/3D image display device comprising: a controller fordetecting the image signal, determining whether the image signal is a 2Dimage signal or a 3D image signal, and determining a 2D driving mode ora 3D driving mode according to the image signal; a display panelcomprising a plurality of pixels; an optical element layer for allowingan entire said 2D image to be transmitted in the 2D driving mode, andincluding an opaque region in the 3D driving mode; a light source forproviding a backlight to the display panel; a light source controllerfor turning off the light source for a first period between a frame ofthe 2D image signal and a frame of the 3D image signal when the imagesignal changes from the 2D image signal to the 3D image signal, andturning off the light source for a second period between the frame ofthe 3D image signal and the frame of the 2D image signal when the imagesignal changes from the 3D image signal to the 2D image signal; and anoptical element layer driver for converting the driving mode of theoptical element layer to the 3D driving mode for the first period andconverting the driving mode of the optical element layer to the 2Ddriving mode for the second period according to an operation of thecontroller.
 24. The 2D/3D image display device of claim 23, wherein eachof the first period and the second period has a duration of one frame.25. A driving method of a 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) imagedisplay device comprising a display unit for displaying a 2D image or a3D image according to an image signal and an optical element layerhaving a first driving mode and a second driving mode according to the3D image or the 2D image, the driving method comprising: a) detectingthe image signal and determining whether the image signal is a 2D imagesignal or a 3D image signal; b) determining whether the image signal ofa current frame and the image signal of a previous frame arerespectively the 2D and 3D image signals or the 3D and 2D image signals;c) according to a result of b), when the image signal of the currentframe and the image signal of the previous frame are respectively the 3Dand 2D image signals, driving the optical element layer in the firstdriving mode after the 2D image signal of the previous frame isfinished; and d) according to the result of b), when the image signal ofthe current frame and the image signal of the previous frame arerespectively the 2D and 3D image signals, driving the optical elementlayer in the second driving mode after the 2D image signal of thecurrent frame is finished.
 26. The driving method of claim 25, wherein,in the first driving mode, a left-eye image and a right-eye image aregenerated in response to the 3D image signal, and the optical elementlayer is used to provide the left-eye image and the right-eye image to aleft eye and a right eye, respectively.
 27. The driving method of claim26, wherein, in the second driving mode, an entire said 2D imagedisplayed on the display unit is transmitted through the optical elementlayer in response to the 2D image signal.
 28. The driving method ofclaim 25, further comprising selecting one mode among the first drivingmode and the second driving mode.
 29. The driving method of claim 28,wherein, when a user selects the first driving mode and the 2D/3D imagedisplay device is not configured to convert the 2D image signal to 3Dimage data, the optical element layer is maintained to be in the seconddriving mode.
 30. A driving method of a 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional(3D) image display device for displaying a 2D or 3D image according toan image signal, the driving method comprising: a) detecting the imagesignal and determining whether the image signal is a 2D image signal ora 3D image signal; b) determining whether the image signal of a currentframe and the image signal of a previous frame are respectively the 2Dand 3D image signals or the 3D and 2D image signals; and c) according toa result of b), when the image signal of the current frame and the imagesignal of the previous frame are respectively the 3D and 2D imagesignals, providing one frame of a black screen between the current frameand the previous frame.
 31. The driving method of claim 30, furthercomprising d), according to the result of b), when the image signal ofthe current frame and the image signal of the previous frame arerespectively the 2D and 3D image signals, providing the one frame of theblack screen between the current frame and the previous frame.
 32. Thedriving method of claim 31, wherein the 2D/3D image display devicefurther comprises an optical element layer having a first driving modecorresponding to the 3D image signal and a second driving modecorresponding to the 2D image signal, further comprising: e) in c),converting a driving mode of the optical element layer at a time whenthe black screen of the one frame is started; and f) in d), convertingthe driving mode of the optical element layer after the black screen ofthe one frame is displayed on the display panel.
 33. The driving methodof claim 32, wherein, in e), the driving mode of the optical elementlayer starts to be converted between a time when the 2D image signal ofone frame is displayed on the display panel according to the previous 2Dimage signal and a time when the black screen of one frame is started.34. A driving method of a 2 dimensional (2D)/3 dimensional (3D) imagedisplay device comprising a display panel for displaying a 2D or 3Dimage according to an image signal and a light source for providing abacklight to the display panel, the method comprising: a) detecting theimage signal and determining whether the image signal is a 2D imagesignal or a 3D image signal; b) determining whether the image signal ofa current frame and the image signal of a previous frame arerespectively the 2D and 3D image signals or the 3D and 2D image signals;and c) according to a result of b), when the image signal of the currentframe and the image signal of the previous frame are respectively the 3Dand 2D image signals, turning off the light source for a first periodbetween the current frame and the previous frame.
 35. The driving methodof claim 34, further comprising d), according to the result of b),turning off the light source for a second period between the currentframe and the previous frame when the image signal of the current frameand the image signal of the previous frame are respectively the 2D imagesignal and the 3D image signal.
 36. The driving method of claim 35,wherein the 2D/3D image display device further comprises an opticalelement layer having a first driving mode corresponding to the 3D imagesignal and a second driving mode corresponding to the 2D image signal,further comprising: e) in c), converting a driving mode of the opticalelement layer for the first period; and f) in d), converting the drivingmode of the optical element layer for the second period.
 37. The drivingmethod of claim 36, wherein each of the first and second periods has aduration of one frame.
 38. An electronic image display devicecomprising: a display panel including a plurality of data lines, aplurality of scan lines, and a plurality of pixels defined by the datalines and the scan lines; and an optical element layer operative in afirst mode or a second mode according to an input signal, the opticalelement layer being adjacent the display panel, wherein the opticalelement layer is driven in the first mode within a first period before aprevious plane image is changed to a current stereoscopic image, and isdriven in the second driving mode after a second period from a time whena previous stereoscopic image is changed to a current plane image. 39.The electronic image display device of claim 38, wherein the firstperiod is a period from after the previous plane image frame isdisplayed on an entire said display panel until the current stereoscopicimage frame is displayed, before the previous plane image is changed tothe current stereoscopic image on the display panel.
 40. The electronicimage display device of claim 39, wherein the second period is a periodfrom when the current plane image is displayed to when the current planeimage is displayed on the entire said display panel.
 41. The electronicimage display device of claim 40, wherein, when the stereoscopic imageis displayed on the display panel, a left-eye image and a right-eyeimage generated in response to the input signal are transmitted throughthe optical element layer to be respectively provided to a left eye anda right eye.
 42. The electronic image display device of claim 41,wherein the left-eye image has a predetermined disparity with respect tothe right-eye image.
 43. The electronic image display device of claim42, wherein the plurality of pixels comprise a plurality of left-eyepixels and a plurality of right-eye pixels, and the optical elementlayer is disposed to correspond to the left-eye pixels and the right-eyepixels.
 44. The electronic image display device of claim 38, whereineach of the pixels comprises an organic electroluminescent element. 45.The electronic image display device of claim 44, wherein each of thepixels further comprises: a first transistor for supplying a drivingcurrent to the organic electroluminescent element; a second transistorfor transmitting a signal from a corresponding said data line to thefirst transistor in response to a first selection signal transmittedfrom a corresponding said scan line; and a first capacitive elementhaving a terminal coupled to a gate electrode of the first transistor.46. The electronic image display device of claim 45, further comprising:a third transistor for diode-connecting the first transistor; and asecond capacitive element having a first terminal coupled to anotherterminal of the first capacitive element, and a second terminal coupledto a first power source voltage.
 47. The electronic image display deviceof claim 45, further comprising: a third transistor for diode-connectingthe first transistor; a fourth transistor coupled to a first electrodeof the first transistor and the corresponding said data line; a fifthtransistor for transmitting an initialization voltage to the terminal ofthe first capacitive element in response to a second selection signal; asixth transistor coupled between the first electrode of the firsttransistor and an anode electrode of the organic electroluminescentelement; and a second capacitive element having a first terminal coupledto the gate electrode, and a second terminal for receiving the secondselection signal.
 48. The electronic image display device of claim 38,wherein each of the pixels comprises a liquid crystal capacitor and aswitch.
 49. The electronic image display device of claim 38, wherein theoptical element layer comprises a barrier layer that is driven using abarrier method.
 50. An electronic image display device comprising: adisplay panel comprising a plurality of data lines, a plurality of scanlines, a plurality of pixels defined by the data lines and the scanlines, the pixels being defined in at least a first area and a secondarea of the display panel; and an optical element layer corresponding tothe first area and operative in a first mode or a second mode accordingto an input signal, wherein the optical element layer is driven in thefirst mode within a first period before a previous plane image ischanged to a current stereoscopic image, and is driven in the secondmode after a second period from a time when a previous stereoscopicimage is changed to a current plane image.
 51. The electronic imagedisplay device of claim 50, wherein the input signal comprises astereoscopic image signal and a plane image signal, the stereoscopicimage signal or the plane image signal is displayed in the first area,and the plane image signal is displayed in the second area.
 52. Theelectronic image display device of claim 51, wherein the first period isa period from after the previous plane image is displayed on an entiresaid display panel until the current stereoscopic image is displayed, ata time when the input signal changes from the plane image signal to thestereoscopic image signal.
 53. The electronic image display device ofclaim 52, wherein the second period is a period between a time when thecurrent plane image is started to be displayed on the first area and atime when the current plane image is displayed on the entire saiddisplay panel.
 54. The electronic image display device of claim 50,wherein each of the pixels comprises an organic electroluminescentelement.
 55. The electronic image display device of claim 54, whereineach of the pixels further comprises: a first transistor for supplying adriving current to the organic electroluminescent element; a secondtransistor for transmitting a signal from a corresponding said data lineto the first transistor in response to a first selection signaltransmitted from a corresponding said scan line; and a first capacitiveelement having a terminal coupled to a gate electrode of the firsttransistor.
 56. The electronic image display device of claim 55, furthercomprising: a third transistor for diode-connecting the firsttransistor; and a second capacitive element having a first terminalcoupled to another terminal of the first capacitive element, and asecond terminal coupled to a first power source voltage.
 57. Theelectronic image display device of claim 55, further comprising: a thirdtransistor for diode-connecting the first transistor; a fourthtransistor coupled to a first electrode of the first transistor and thecorresponding said data line; a fifth transistor for transmitting aninitialization voltage to the terminal of the first capacitive elementin response to a second selection signal; a sixth transistor coupledbetween the first electrode of the first transistor and an anodeelectrode of the organic electroluminescent element; and a secondcapacitive element having a first terminal coupled to a gate electrodeof the first transistor and a second terminal for receiving the secondselection signal.
 58. The electronic image display device of claim 50,wherein the pixel comprises a liquid crystal capacitor and a switch. 59.The electronic image display device of claim 50, wherein the opticalelement layer is driven using a barrier method.